Two inch well question

I have an old two inch well (galvanized casing) that I need to replace inner piping, foot valve, packer, jet, etc.

I am at he point of pulling out the old piping. My question is: Is the casing adapter threaded to the casing or is it just seated to it? I am assuming that it is just seated but before I go to yankin' I thought that I would ask you guys. I remember replacing the pipes years ago with my dad but I can't remember how it is assembled exactly. My dad has since passed.

my situation is the same as phil's in georgia. i removed the three bolts and inserted eye-bolts with chains, and proceed to pull with a come-along. i eventually raised the pipe about an inch and a half, then it stopped. the 4x4's are groaning, i can't get another click on the come-along and i fear the cable snapping. do i need more muscle, or is there something i need to know?

let off the tension a little and try to spin it with a wrench (clockwise only, as to tighten). if nothing still, tap it down a little.. spin it and try again. usually the leathers are hanging you up, so the more you wear them out, the easier it should be to come up.

btw i'd advise pulling from the 1" threaded hole on top of well adapter. careful not to break those 3 bolt holes.

after two hours of doing as you said (giving up twice) it worked!!! thanks, justwater. i quite easily pulled up thirty feet of pipe (water at eighteen feet) to find a clear venturi and a foot valve that seemed to work, though i can't be sure there wasn't debris in it before i messed with it. so i still don't know why the pump wasn't holding a prime. what else could it be.

...i still don't know why the pump wasn't holding a prime. what else could it be.

Click to expand...

Describe what you mean by not holding prime. Is the water running back to the well from the pressure tank or does the pressure hold but it sucks in air? With some plastic fittings you can have a suction leak that holds under pressure.

originally the 12-year-old pump was found running continuously with no water. I hired the only well man around who would deal w/2inch; he said,"new pump" i said "ok." he said he poured a considerable amount of water into the prime hole of the new pump, and it all went away. he said "bad foot valve." i took him at his word and took over from there. is there a way to check for a hole in the rwo inch at this stage?
all plumbing is galv. or copper.

Make sure the footvalve and leathers are good. Insert the packer about 10 feet and fill the casing up to the top with water. If it holds, the first 10 feet of casing is good. Lower the packer 10 feet and fill it again. If it holds, the first 20 feet of casing is good. Rinse, lather, repeat.

That's a lot of work just to locate where the hole in the 2" casing is, then have to drill a new well anyway. You could just install a shallow well injector on the end of your pump and then run a 1" or 3/4" PVC pipe not over 35 feet inside the 2" with a 3/4" foot valve on the end. It wouldn't produce a lot of water but other than some mud or sand coming in at the hole, it would eliminate the problem of a leak in the 2".

Purportedly the water is at 18 feet and the original packer was set at 30. The packer could be raised up above the hole and the same length of pipe moved to the footvalve end. If the packer is in good shape, then maybe new leathers is all it would need.

best way i've found to do it is set packer above hole, instead of a foot valve on bottom of jet assembly use a brass check valve, then male adapter with however much 1" pvc to get a hair past where the jet was set originally just to be safe... on the bottom of the pvc use 2 glued couplings squeezing a 3rd leather cup to seal off the bottom of pvc... bad spot blocked. no working on the well again though so start saving. i have seen bandaids like this last over 10 yrs.

Hey, I like your suggestion. The second leather below isolates the bad section of casing. Of course, sand can fill up the space between the packer jet and lower leather hence your warning that there will be "no working on the well again".